BACK ON TRACK
by sweetheartgml
Summary: So, Ryan has figured out that Taylor is the one for him and he's got a plan to win Taylor back for good. Taylor still loves Ryan but she doesn't want to get hurt again. Seth and Summer think their friends need some extra help and they have come up with a plan of their own... Disclaimer: I don't own The O.C. or its characters. If I did I wouldn t have ended season 4 so soon.
1. Chapter 1

**BACK ON TRACK **

**Chapter 1**

After hooking up during Julie's attempted wedding, Ryan had spent the following two days with Taylor in Berkeley. Now, after waking up with her next to him he came to realize how much he has missed her all this time, how much he really loved her.

It's true that he once held a great love for Marissa, but time helped him heal his wounds, make amends with life and fate for her passing, and he had finally and forever moved on.

Looking back, he could see how in spite of how much in love he had been with Marissa, everything had always been so messy, drama-filled, and how they had never been able to have a happy ending that could last more than a few weeks at a time because somehow she would sucker-punch him with something going on in her life. He had been in love with her so he didn't mind going through all of that at the time and he didn't regret anything now neither, but things with Taylor were different, so much different…

He had to admit that being with Taylor was like riding a rollercoaster, her mind didn't work as everyone else's most of the time; Her behavior could be unsettling on occasions, like the time when she tried to be his sleep therapist and insisted on watching him sleep to help him with his insomnia; but most of the time it was endearing. like when she tried to get him drunk to make him say that he loved her only to end up drunk herself.

But that was not all; there was also the cute, gentle, thoughtful, and funny Taylor. He remembered how he couldn't help himself from being amused by her witty comments or smile inside whenever she sent a sweet word or gesture in his direction; she had always been really good to him and always found a way to surprise him, with her, he had even found a sense of humor of his own he didn't know he had. With Marissa it had all been about saving her, with Taylor, she was the one who was always giving him support; she saved him from self-pity and bitterness… coming to think about it… she just _saved_ him.

Somehow, Taylor had managed to make a space, a really big space, for herself in his heart and in his life; all the time they spent apart while she had been studying in France he told himself that he was over her but he had felt empty, not truly believing himself. He really loved her and he needed her, it's was all perfectly clear now.

Looking at the beautiful woman resting in his arms, asleep but smiling in complete peace and joy, made him warm inside; this was his rightful place: being close to Taylor, holding her tight, taking care of her, making her feel loved and safe.

As on cue, Taylor fluttered her eyelashes and opened her eyes slowly. When she saw Ryan staring and smiling down at her, she smiled in response and Ryan's heart made a jump.

_Morning_ - she said and pressed a sweet kiss on Ryan's chest, he tightened his arms around her waist.

Morning – he replied, planting a kiss on her forehead – Did you sleep well?

_I did – _she replied with a puzzled look on her face -_ I usually sleep for only three hours every night but I always seem to sleep for longer and more soundly when I'm with you, I have the theory that it's probably because you wear me out with all of our pre-sleeping activities, not that I'm complaining or anything – _she gave him a wicked smile and reached out to hold Ryan's neck and pull him close to kiss him softly on the lips. Ryan chuckled.

Are you ready for some breakfast?

_Sure! I'm starving!_

Ok. Let's get dressed and we can go wherever you want.

_Mmmm…I don't know… so many options running through my head right now –_she said pouting with a childlike expression, Ryan had to laugh at the sight. That was one of the other things he loved so much about her, she always made him laugh.

Well, you can think about it while getting ready and tell me later -he said while pressing a small kiss on the tip of her nose. She closed her eyes and smile at the gesture.

_Deal!_ – She said opening her eyes - I'll go to my room and I will be ready and about an hour.

They've been staying at a little hotel in Berkeley along with Summer, Seth, Julie, Kaitlin and Frank. Sandy, Kirsten and the baby had remained in the house that was soon to be officially theirs… again. Although they got together at the almost wedding, later on when it was time to register at the hotel, he was about ask Taylor to stay with him but she quickly asked for a room for herself; as things were not clear with them at the time, not that they were any clearer now, he decided to let her have her way without comment and now her things were in a room two floors above Ryan's.

Ryan reluctantly let Taylor unwrap herself from him and leave the bed to look for her clothes and put them on while he stayed where he was, watching her – devouring her with his eyes was the most accurate description, really. When she finished dressing, she walked towards the bed, bended over to kiss Ryan softly.

_I'll meet you at the lobby in sixty minutes, give it or take._

I'll be waiting – he said and pulled her in for one last soft kiss before letting her go.

Taylor smiled, incorporated herself and left the room.

After watching her disappeared through the door, Ryan started thinking, panicking actually:

What if she is over me and this is a one-time only kind of thing? Does she still feel the same way about me? Would she like to start things again with me? Can we really work things out this time?

Ryan recognized the self-doubt that always assaulted him when he was the most happy, making him second guess himself and build up that wall where he could shield himself form anything and _anyone_ who could possibly hurt him. Well, not this time. Taylor was possibly … no… she was certainly the happy ending he had always craved for and he wasn't going to let his fears and insecurities stop him from having the woman he loved, not again. Maybe she didn't feel the same way… yet, but he will not lose her without a fight. He told the evil little voice inside his head to go to hell and started getting ready to meet Taylor, already planning how to make her agree to take him back.

Taylor walked into her hotel room feeling as happy as she could possibly be. The past two days with Ryan had been amazing. When she decided to come for the wedding in spite the high possibilities of finding herself in awkward situations with Ryan, she told herself that she was doing this for Julie, she had been like a mother to her when she needed one and there was no amount of Ryan Atwoods that could possibly stop her from being there for her; what she hadn't considered was the chance of falling back again in the arms of the man she secretly, well not so secretly as Summer already knew, considered the one and only true love of her life.

While she was getting ready, she found herself working hard to look her best because she loved the awestruck look Ryan would give her every time he saw her all dressed up, not that she didn't know he found her beautiful regardless, he would always smile with soft eyes every time he laid eyes on her but, when she really made an effort he would just look like a man who just couldn't believe his luck and she consciously sent to his subconscience the message that it was all for him, and for him only. She loved it.

While looking at herself in the mirror to assess the final result, Taylor could picture herself cuddled against Ryan on the sofa of _their_ living room, watching a romantic movie and enjoying some alone time in _their_ home…

_Taylor you're doing it again! Snap yourself out of it!_ – she told her reflection while erasing the image from her mind – _This weekend has been the best so far but it doesn't mean it's going to be more than that, just enjoy it for as long as you can and you will try to mend your already broken heart when you get back to France_.

With a final glance over the mirror, Taylor turned around to grab her purse and sweater and headed for the door to meet Ryan.

Ryan was standing outside the hotel getting some fresh air while waiting for Taylor. When he made the decision of trying to win Taylor back an hour ago, he had called for back-ups. Seth was always great but he was dealing with his own problems, that with Summer leaving to work for G.E.O.R.G.E., and this really required the big guns, so he called Sandy for advice.

After telling Sandy what the situation was and how he really felt towards Taylor, Sandy told him that the key to win Taylor back was by earning her trust and by talking to her with honesty and resolution, no room for doubt. That left him out of base for a second, her _trust_? _Just talking? No room for doubt?_ He wasn't sure if Sandy for once got things wrong, he was hoping to get ideas for a romantic get-away or something like that, but when his foster father explained, it all made sense to him at the end.

Sandy had told Ryan that love and romance wasn't the issue with them. He told him that he had watched their relationship developed before his eyes and it had been obvious for everyone that they had fallen for each other, even though it hadn't been so clear to him at the beginning; and that if his feelings towards Taylor hadn't changed after six months apart, it was most likely that hers hadn't had changed neither.

The problem was that he had lead Taylor on one minute to slam the breaks and push her away the other. Sandy reminded him about the time Taylor's ex-husband showed up, how he tried successfully to keep her just to pull back again, the dictionary fiasco on her birthday, that he finally told her he loved her and they spent a lovely summer together only for him to break up with her when she decided to go to France, all because he thought they couldn't handle a long-distance relationship and that it would only set them both back from moving on with their lives.

Looking back at all those things, Ryan could tell that Sandy was right. He needed to prove to Taylor that he was here to stay, that they could make things work and that she could let herself love him freely because her heart will be well-kept with him.

While going through his conversation with Sandy over his head, Ryan saw a small flower stand on the corner… Taylor loved flowers. He walked the distance and saw roses, Taylor's favorites. He found one that was a mixture of white and red, it was perfect! In one rose he could express the sincerity and pureness of his intentions along with the great passion she stirred within him. He paid for the rose and head back to the hotel and walked into the lobby.

Ryan stood in front of the elevator and when the doors opened and Taylor stepped out, he felt the air punched out of his lungs. She was wearing a lilac dress that would hug her rather curvy figure in all the right places, her shiny hair was loose in soft curls falling on her shoulders, her eyes sparkling. She was breathtaking.

After he managed to close his drooling mouth, she gave him that wicked smile of hers, the one she would always wear when she found something exciting or mischievous or when she knew something everybody else ignored. She occasionally would give him that smile when they were dating, without him knowing exactly why, most of the time. Maybe he should ask her about it in the future… _the future_.

He met her halfway and presented her with the rose he just bought, her eyes burnt brighter when she saw it.

_How lovely! Thank you!_

You're welcome. I saw it and thought of you so I got it

_Why, aren't we chivalrous and sweet? – S_he pulled him in for a soft but somehow very passionate kiss that turned his knees to mellow.

Are you ready? - Ryan took Taylor's hand without even thinking about it, it had become a natural thing for him to do, he intertwined her fingers with his and hold them tight in an attempt to let her know that he was committed and that he was truly there for her.

_Yes, all set_ -Taylor noted the change in him, how he looked at her, how he held her hand, how soft and sweet his voice got when he talked to her, how he had gotten out of his way to buy her a rose... It all made her feel as if she was the most precious thing for him, but she knew she was kidding herself. She was seeing what she wanted to see; she reminded herself that she had lost, six months ago, all hopes of having the love of her life within arms' reach forever.

She was determined to enjoy her time with Ryan and make the most of it but without letting herself hope for more, there were only so many times your heart could be broken.

So, let's go then – Ryan said leading her towards the exit doors.

They smiled to each other and walked out of the hotel hand in hand, both with very different things running through their minds.

TO BE CONTINUE…


	2. Chapter 2

**BACK ON TRACK**

**CHAPTER 2**

So, what are you having for breakfast? Have you decided, yet? – Ryan asked while they were walking hand in hand on the side walk.

_Well, at first I wanted pancakes so I was going to suggest an IHOP and then I remembered Pancakes and how cute she looked in the picture Summer sent me of her with all her little bunnies..._

Ok, so pancakes…

…_they're all so fluffy and sweet and that got me craving for cotton candy but it's too much sugar for breakfast don´t you think? And let's face it, where are we going to get it at this time? _

Ok, so no cotton candy…

_.. And then I thought of Dr. Fieldman and how sure I was that he wouldn`t appreciated me eating that much sugar… _

Who's Dr. Fieldman? And why…

… _oh, he's my dentist, he does the most spectacular job, you should see him… not that you don't have the most perfect smile, you know that… _

No, I didn`t but thanks…

_You´re so cute when you're being modest, but any ways, Dr. Fieldman has a picture in his office of him and his son eating chicken sandwiches, which I think it's really cute, so I remembered how much you loved eating chicken sandwiches when we went on brunch dates and it hit me that we could go to that cute diner I saw three blocks from here, they must have chicken sandwiches for you and I can have my pancakes… if you want?_

Ryan was mesmerized. It was always challenging trying to follow Taylor's stream of thought when she got in autopilot mode. He had to smile though at how she managed to include him and his food preferences in her choice for a breakfast place. She was so good to him.

God, I love her – he thought

Taylor, sweetheart – he managed to say pouring all the warm feelings he had for her into the words – we'll go wherever you want. If you want pancakes from the IHOP that's what you're gonna get, ok? Don't worry about me.

Taylor's heart made a big jump when she heard the endearment Ryan just uttered; she marveled at how she had missed hearing Ryan addressing her in such sweet terms; no that he had lacked in compliments for her in the past two days during their activities between the sheets, he had been pretty vocal last night come to think of it, but this… this was different. She knew that something had changed since waking up this morning and she wasn´t sure if it were good or bad news for her.

_Ok, then; diner it is. Let's go have breakfast._

Walking towards the diner, Ryan started thinking. He knew that words weren't his forte not to mention that he usually failed miserably expressing his feelings but according to Sandy _talking about feelings_ was what he needed to do to win Taylor back… this was going to suck. He decided that although talking was necessary, he didn't have to do it just yet…

_Dude, you're such a coward, man_…he heard Seth in his head.

He shook the thought off, he wasn´t being a coward he was just bidding his time. Ryan decided that it would be best to spend a little more time with Taylor, going on mini dates with her the rest of the day, showing her what a good, thoughtful, and romantic boyfriend he could be. Then, they could spend the night together making love and after a romantic breakfast in bed they will sit down to talk about things until they got their relationship back on track. He congratulated himself as he had finally come up with a failure-proof game plan.

Seth and Summer had spent the day before, wrapped around each other in their hotel room. They were trying to make up in advanced for all the time they were going to be separated as Summer had decided to go back to G.E.O.R.G.E., so she will be leaving in a couple of days. They were cuddling up in a small sofa in front of the T.V., when Summer remembered that she wasn`t the only one leaving and surely not the only one making up for lost time.

_Baby, have you talked to Ryan? _–she asked still looking at the T.V.

No so much, I've been kind of busy in the past 36 hours - he grinned -why? – Now, he looked down at her suspiciously – Should I be worried that you are thinking about my brother while we are cuddling up watching the most wonderful display of "all-time romantic classic meets modern romance" in a film?

They were watching "10 things I hate about you" with Seth pointing out all the edition mistakes.

_Cohen, don´t be an idiot_ – she said a little exasperated and she stood up. Although she loved him with all her heart, sometimes Seth's sense of humor could really drive her crazy.

I love it when you sweet talk to me – he said with a sarcastic but somehow sweet smile and he stood up too.

_I´m serious! He`s been with Taylor all this time, she is crazy in love with him and now after sixth months trying to forget about him, she is going to get hurt again as Atwood is going to mess it all up as usual, my poor best friend will be devastated and she will cry all the way back to Paris; we have to do something, I say we call up for an intervention _– she said with resolution.

Her level of determination was one of the things about Summer Seth loved and feared in equal amounts. She picked up her phone and started dialing and that was when fear overruled love.

Honey, calm down, breeeeathe – he soothed, walking towards her. He reached for her hands, gave her a little kiss to distract her and took the phone away from her dialing hands.

_Hey! What are you doing? Give it back Cohen!_

No, won`t do –he said, stepping a little back to avoid physical damage -Now listen sweetie, when you get this excited you get all pitchy and loud and although to me it's extremely cute and sexy hot… it's weird, I know, you don't have to give me that look… I don't want our current neighbors to get the wrong idea of what's going on in here.

Summer seemed to listen because she started to calm down a little bit. Seth took the opportunity…

Now, I'm with you in that there are high possibilities for Ryan to screw things up with Taylor given his past records, but I know that even though he won't admit it, he is completely wrapped around Taylor`s little finger, so I have to believe that he will come around eventually. We should stay out of it, let them figure things out.

_Eventually? He will come around eventually?_ – she started getting all pitchy again -_ I am leaving in two days and Taylor is leaving shortly afterwards, there is not time for Ryan to think all this over and over again just to realize he should have done something when the woman he loves is already halfway around the world! Are you seriously going to stand on the sideline while your brother ruins what could possibly be his and Taylor's last chance to be happily together for the rest of their lives? … Are you? – _She gave him a piercing look.

Seth knew he was going to regret his words the moment he uttered them – Ok. Fine! What do you want me to do?

Taylor and Ryan had just finished their breakfast. They had spend about two hours enjoying their meal and talking about Taylor`s favorite places in France and Ryan`s visits to the UCB campus, both of them carefully keeping future plans out of the conversation, but besides that, they found themselves chatting endlessly and completely at ease with each other.

Taylor was telling Ryan about how much she loved taking road trips to visit little villages in the French countryside, she was so excited and kind of emotional while describing what she loved the most about each town she had visited that Ryan couldn`t helped himself, so he leaned in to kiss her.

It started out as a very sweet kiss but it escalated rapidly into a very passionate one that was starting to turn heads in the cute little diner and in the middle of it, to their surprise and annoyance, both their phones rang.

They separated from each other and dug for their phones.

_Uh! It's Summer!_ – Taylor said glancing at her phone screen

Well, I got Seth – Ryan said as response glancing at his

_Do you think they're spying on us? – _She said looking out the window for signs of them hiding behind a tree

I don´t think so

_Then, what would they possible want? Do you think something's wrong?_

Just one way to find out – he said

They both answered their phones at the same time.

_Hey, Summer… So nice to hear from you… it's everything ok? – _Taylor chimed over the line.

Hey, man! What's up? – Ryan said to his very importunate brother.

After a little while Taylor and Ryan looked at each other with worried looks thinking that Seth`s and Summer`s timing really sucked.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **I thank you for your reviews and suggestions. To those who have included this story as one of their favorites or as one to follow, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I`ll try to post the next chapter very soon. I hope you like this one too!

**BACK ON TRACK**

**CHAPTER THREE**

"So, Ryan is on his way. He is so gonna kill me, you'll be a widow before you are bride you do know that, don`t you?" – Seth told Summer while getting off the phone.

"_Don`t be so dramatic. When Ryan sees that this is for the greater good, he'll thank us for the rest of his life, you'll see"_

"I really hope so. What about Taylor?"- He said walking towards Summer and circling his arms around her waist.

"_When I told her that there was no one in the whole wide world that I could trust more than her, she just couldn't say no."_ – She put her arms around his neck.

"And Kaitlin?"

"_She is on her way, she'll meet Taylor there. She knows what to do"_

"You are as manipulative as you are beautiful" – he said with a smile.

"_Fear it and embrace it because you are stuck with me Cohen"_ – she said getting on his toes to kiss him.

"_I love you"_

"I love you, too"

Ryan´s entire plan for the day was falling apart piece by piece with every word coming from Seth's mouth over the receiver. It seemed like fate wasn`t on his side today but fate or no fate he will make things happen for him, he just needed to deal with Seth as soon as possible and he'll pick up things where they were left off.

"I am gonna kill Seth." – Ryan said getting off the phone.

"_Well, Summer is certainly in need of some life-threats herself if you ask me."_

"What happened?"

"_She is making a big fuss about not having enough time to get all her things ready by the time she has to leave, so she needs me to pick up some things and run some errands for her. I'm supposed to meet Kaitlin at the mall; apparently she has been recruited to help too."_

"If she's got Kaitlin´s help, why does she need you?"

"_Well, she said that she was sure I already had everything organized for my trip back to Paris because I'm a total control freak, which is true, so she needed my expertise… She also asked me to keep an eye on Kaitlin … and she told me she couldn't trust anyone else with some of the things she needed done, Seth included. She totally had me with that last part"_ – she said with a giggle.

"The whole Seth-part actually makes sense, especially because I just talked to him and he needs me to go back to the hotel to help him with some kind of crisis."

"_In that case, we´ll have to go and help our friends." _

"Yeah, too bad though. I was hoping to spend the rest of the day with you."

"_Yeah, me too, we don´t have that much time left_"- she said with a sigh.

"If Seth is not dying I am gonna kill him." – That last statement made Taylor laugh.

"Come on, let's go." – She said pulling Ryan off the seat.

Ryan kissed Taylor good-bye outside the diner and waited until he saw her off in a taxi before heading back to the hotel. He was mad at Seth for his ill-timing but thinking of all the ways he could inflict physical pain to his blood-brother made the walk some-what more pleasurable. He was thinking that Seth had better had a good reason to call him or he was going to go all Chino on him. Deep down inside he knew he could never hurt Seth, he loved him like a real brother but he didn't have to like him right now.

Ryan took the elevator to Seth's and Summer's floor, he got to their door and knocked. He heard Seth`s voice telling him to come in so he opened the door and let himself in.

It was a surprise to find the room in almost complete darkness, the curtains were all the way down and the lights were off. The only source of light was a little lamp on a small table at the far corner and Seth was seated next to it with his head back down and both hand at each side of his face. This looked like one of those scenes in a really bad movie. He closed the door and walked over to sit on the opposite chair across the table.

"Hey man, you look terrible. What's going on?"

In that moment he heard a click on the door and some keys turning a lock. The lights went on, Ryan turned his head back towards the door and he saw Summer standing next to it with a key in her hand. Ryan turned back to look at Seth who by then had snapped up his head and started pleading…

"Ryan, my brother, my man, I am so sorry. I was forced into doing this, I'm a victim too. Please, don´t kill me" – Seth said putting his hands together as in prayer.

"What the hell is going on in here?"– Ryan said standing up and looking back and forth between Seth and Summer, getting angrier by the second.

"Cohen, stop being such a coward. Atwood, sit down, we need to talk."

"As far as I know, we have nothing to talk about - He told Summer and she rolled her eyes in response, then he turned to Seth – And you! You should have her checked up, she`s not in her right mind and when you´re done with that, you should go find a good place to hide before a I get you and kick your ass for helping her."

"I know, I know" – he said putting his hands up in a sign of surrender – "but hear her out, she has a good reason for doing this and I get extra points for tonight by providing my assistance so… You know how this is…"

"I don't want to know about it. Now, let me out."

"Well, you should listen to me! And I don`t care if you wanna go all Chino on us, I will not let you hurt Taylor and yourself again."

"Summer open the door or I`ll … – he started saying until he heard the last part- … Say what?"

"You heard me!"

"Oh God, here it comes. It's Pitchy Summer again" – Seth intervened with a pain-like look on his face.

"Pitchy what?" - Ryan asked

"Aaargh! seriously, both of you are impossible!" – Summer said sounding more and more pitchy with every word and Ryan gave a knowing look to Seth – "it's amazing how the two of you aren´t actually related!"

"Honey, relax! Remember what I told you…"

"Oh, shut up Cohen! This is important, I don´t care what the people in the other rooms think."

"I'm shutting up… I'm shutting up" – he said with a soothing voice and raising his hands to show defeat.

"Seriously dude, grow a pair" – Ryan told Seth.

"Oh, yeah? You try to talk to her when she gets like this. I'm just avoiding unnecessary casualties, not to mention getting arrested if the other guests start calling the police." – Ryan rolled his eyes at the comment.

"Both of you stop talking! You are really making me angry and that is not good for the skin, I refuse to use Botox until I'm sixty and in order to accomplish that, I need the two of you to stop talking nonsense... now - she said in a calmer tone - we are going to end this whole I-love-you-Taylor-but-I-don´t-think-we-should-be-together crap, once and for all. Do I make myself clear, Atwood?"

Yes, ma´am.

Ryan was surprised by his own response and by the look on Summer`s and Seth's faces it was obvious they were surprised too. He had been ready to knock the door down if Summer didn`t open it because this whole situation was beyond ridiculous, but when he heard it was about Taylor, he decided to listen. How bad could it really be? – He thought.

Kaitlin was waiting for Taylor at the mall entrance. When she saw her getting out of the taxi, she smiled and waved so Taylor could see her. Taylor saw her and waved back and she started walking towards her.

_So, she is finally here… Operation French Connection is officially on the go…_

When Summer had called her and asked her to come to her room, Kaitlin thought that she probably needed some make-up advise and she had gone willingly but, when Summer explained what she wanted her to do, she just jumped at the idea… after all, she was getting freebies out of it in addition to all the fun.

All Kaitlin needed to do was to keep Taylor busy shopping whatever she saw fit, until Summer solved the other part of the plan with Ryan. She usually wouldn´t care one bit about others' love problems but Taylor became kind of a sister to her, a little crazy but a kind-of-sister none the less and she liked Ryan, so why not?... it wasn`t like she had anything else to do that morning.

"_Hello Kaitlin, I see you´ve been recruited too"_

"Hey, Taylor… yes, what did she tell you to convince you?"

"_That she needed some things done at the bank and that no one else could do it but me and to help you with the shopping list just so that you don´t get carried away, what did she tell you?"_

"That I get to buy something for myself in every store I have to go for her"

"_Your deal was so much better than mine"_

"Did you ever doubt it?... remind me to teach you a thing or two one day" – Taylor rolled her eyes but smiled, thinking that this little girl was going places.

"_So, do you have that list?"_

"Yeap. Here it is."

Taylor took a look at the list and after reading all the items on it, she knew all her hopes of spending the day with Ryan were out of the window.

"_This is going to take forever!"_

_TO BE CONTINUED…._


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello everyone. I´m sorry it has taken me some time but to make up for the waiting I will upload two chapters today. I hope you like them and I thank you for your kind reviews, for following and adding this story as one of you favorites. Enjoy!

**BACK ON TRACK**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

" So, you are actually going to listen to me?"_- Summer asked_

"Yeap" – Ryan replied with a nod

"Just like that?"

"Just like that"

"Hmph, I had a speech prepared, you know?"

"I`m sure you did." – Ryan said with a smile because although all of this was ridiculous and a little annoying, it came from a place of caring so he was willing to let Summer and Seth off the hook.

"Ok. So the first part, which I thought would be the most difficult is done… you do want to be with Taylor, right?"

"Right"

"What happened, man? I thought you were set on that stupid idea that the two of you weren´t meant to be, long-distance relationships don´t work and bla, bla, bla…" – Seth said while walking towards the bed, reaching for Summer. Then, he sat on it pulling Summer to him so she could sit on his lap wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her right shoulder. Summer put her hands over Seth´s instinctively.

Ryan watched the comfortable automatic interaction of his friends and longed for Taylor. She is the only one he could picture himself to be that way.

"Earth calling to Ryan, hellooo" – Seth said as it was obvious that Ryan had spaced out.

"Oh, sorry – he said coming back from his reverie - Well, these past two days have been amazing, better that it had ever been for me with anyone. Right until now, I`ve been feeling like some part of me was missing, like I needed to find something. At the beginning I thought that it was because of all the changes you know, school, the house, all that… but now I know for sure that it's because of Taylor, it's always been about Taylor… she's the one for me and if you think about it, what are four years compared to a life of happiness, right?"

"Wow" – it was all Seth had for an answer

"I second that" – said Summer – "That it's so mature and soul-felt. I'm in an awestruck"

"Shut up" – replied Ryan and they all laughed good-naturally.

"So, what do you plan to do? Do you think she will want to take you back?" – Seth asked

"I think so, although I'm not sure. I mean, we´ve had two amazing days together but I know I hurt her deeply when I ended things six months ago. I can feel that she loves me still and I love her too, with all my heart. I just don´t know if I hurt her too much and she won`t come back to me, I`m afraid she won´t trust me"

"Of course she`ll take you back!" – Summer said in a very optimist tone, which made Ryan smile and feel a little more optimist himself.

"Summer`s right, this is Taylor we´re talking about. She will totally forgive you, dude"

"Well, I already had a plan"

"Good because we didn´t" – said Seth sighing in relief

"What? And what was all of this about, then?"

"Well – Summer said giving Seth the evil eye- we thought that getting into your head that you love Taylor and that you should do whatever it takes to be with her was going to take some time and by that I mean hours of convincing, so it would give us the time to figure what to do to make it happen for the two of you"

"So, tell us about your plan" – Seth asked

"Yes! But don´t tell me that you thought of a stroll around the park or a quiet little dinner" – jumped up Summer

"Hmm Why not? What´s wrong with that?"

"Seriously, Ryan?"

"Yeah, I mean, you know I am simple guy. I don´t do extravaganza"

"We know, but this isn´t about you. Don´t give me that look, I know that it IS about you, what I meant is that this is about Taylor, too. And at the moment is mostly about Taylor. She is the one you will try to convince that you love her and that you always will, forever and ever; and that means that a big gesture is in order. You know that Taylor doesn´t do subtle."

"I guess you´re right"

"I know I am"

"Talking about Taylor, where is she?" – Ryan asked

"Oh, she´s at the mall with Kaitlin. Kaitlin will keep her busy while we solve this. I`ve got it! Why don´t we do a flash mob at the mall?"

"Honey, you know I love you and this comes from a place of caring but, are you crazy?" –Seth gave Summer and incredulous look.

"I know, I know" – Summer said – "I heard myself, I got a little carried away and besides there´s no time to find the dancers and rehearse the routine" – Seth just rolled his eyes because in the position they were, a comment from him would end up with Summer´s elbow buried in his ribcage but then he had an epiphany.

"Oh, I've got the perfect idea!" – Seth announced with a big grin on his face.

At the mall Taylor and Kaitlin were going from store to store getting everything on the list and something for Kaitlin, of course. After two hours walking around they were almost done. The only thing left to do was a transfer to Summer`s school in Providence so they could hold her place for next year and because a special form was needed, she couldn´t do it on-line. Both girls walked in the bank and when towards the desk with forms and slips to find the right one.

From one of the offices behind the front desk at the bank and hidden behind the barely open door, Ryan was watching Taylor and Kaitlin walking in and going to the opposite side, surely looking for the forms as Summer had said. Showtime was approaching and he was getting very nervous.

"They're here" – he breathed out.

"aawww, this is soooo romantic!" – Kathy said. Ryan, Summer and Seth looked at her and smiled.

Kathy was an intern at the bank. When Ryan, Summer and Seth had arrived earlier, they have asked to talk to someone in the Customer Service Department claiming to have some kind of emergency because Summer's checkbook got stolen. They needed an excuse to get help from someone at the bank but nothing that would require a major executive, just somebody who they could convince to help them out. As reporting stolen or misplaced checkbooks and credit cards was a standard procedure, Kathy was assigned to help them and they were really lucky because she had turned out to be a hopeless romantic and it didn´t take much to have her on board.

Summer texted Kaitlin to let her know they were ready. Kaitlin had been a really good sport by taking more than the necessary time to buy all the things on the list, giving them time to get to the bank unnoticed and get ready. Summer thought of how much Kaitlin had grown up in the last year and that surely Marissa would be extremely proud of her little sister.

Kaitlin texted back with the ok and they got to business.

Ryan was looking on the edge of a panic attack when Summer said it was time so Seth took it upon himself to be the one giving Ryan the ultimate prep talk. He stood in front of his brother and put his hands on his brother`s shoulders.

"Ok, man. Take a big breath" – which Ryan did – "Now, this is it. You can do it. We both have done ridiculous and stupid stuff before and this is going to be the big mamma of them all" – Ryan gave him a terrified look and Summer a murdering one – "But, this one instead of putting either one of us in risk of going to jail, at least I don´t think" – Seth turned to Kathy with a questioning look and she shook her head and smiled- "See? Well, this time it´s going to get you the girl you love and that that´s going to make all of this worth it… in spite of how much this is going to suck for you, alright?" – Ryan nodded and took a deep breath – "That's my man! Now get down to it and make me proud!"

Taylor was going through the forms when suddenly the soft music playing on the speakers stopped and a young woman´s voice came out, it was Kathy.

"May I have you attention, please. This is a special customer announcement for Miss Taylor Townsend. This is a special announcement for Miss Taylor Townsend…" There was some clicking and ruffling and then a voice came out and her heart skipped a bit.

"Taylor?" – It was Ryan – "Taylor? Are you there?" – She walked slowly towards the middle of the room no believing what she was hearing. In the meanwhile, everyone in the bank fell silent looking everywhere to see this Taylor person and realization come down on them when they saw Kaitlin jumping behind her with a big smile and point at her and also Taylor's shocked stare was big giveaway.

"She's here, alright!" someone called out from somewhere

"Mmm… thanks…" – Ryan said through the speakers – "Taylor, you know that I am not good at words or expressing my feelings but…" - they all heard Ryan sighing – " this past six months have been so black and white, lifeless, empty and I didn´t know why. Well, I did know why, I just didn´t want to admit it for myself. See, you are the one who makes it multicolor for me just with your beautiful smile" – there was a collective aaww sound and Taylor's eyes started to fill with unshed tears, not believing what she was hearing. Was this really Ryan?

"The spark of your eyes is what makes everything bright no matter how horrible the day could`ve been" – he continued pouring everything in him with every word – "and you fill me in every single possible way with love and happiness as I never felt before"

"You tell her son!" – Some man cried out from somewhere at the back of the crowd that now was circling Taylor. She half laughed, half cried at the comment as she was trying to dry with the back of her hand the tears that now were running down her face.

"I know I hurt you – Ryan continued – I pushed you away and broke your wonderful and loving heart. I have no excuse for that, only that I was scared. I know that now. You were making me so happy that I let the fear of having my heart broken again kept me from really loving you, loving you the way you deserve" – half the room was in tears now, mostly the ladies but a few men were tear eyed as well – "I know it´s a lot to ask… to trust me again but, if you let me… I will spend every waking moment of everyday showing you how much I love you. I promise I will take of you**, **to give you everything you need and to be anyone you want me or need me to be. This past two days made me realize that I can´t go another day without you. So, Taylor… would you please come back to me? Would you please be my girlfriend? ... I´ll give you a minute and I will come out and whatever your answer may be, I promise I´ll respect it." And with that the speakers were off.

Taylor's mind was reeling, wondering what should she do now?

TO BE CONTINUED…


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

After turning off the microphone Ryan sighed. This was a very risky thing for him to do and he just hoped it was the right one.

When he finally turned back to where his friends where standing he saw both Summer and Kathy with tears coming down their cheeks at either side of Seth, clinging onto his shirt.

"Well? What do you think? Do you think she liked it?" – Ryan asked his friends.

"That was beautiful! I swear that if she doesn´t take you back I will bitch-slap her and then I´ll come back to give you my number" – Kathy said, winning an annoyed stare from Summer.

"It was perfect!" – Summer said looking at Ryan – "I´ve couldn´t have done it better myself. Now, get out there and kiss her senseless."

"Yeah bro, it was a nice speech. You go ahead and I will take care of the cry-baby twins"

"Hey!" - Both of them said.

"And remember, be cool!" – He heard Seth said while walking out.

Getting to where Taylor was proved to be easy because the crowd would make way for him when they saw him approaching. He walked towards her, looking at her face but she was very still and gave nothing away so he started to panic again.

Ryan was finally face to face with Taylor. He held her gaze and reached for her hands.

"So, what did you think?" – He asked with an impish tone more out of nervousness than anything else.

"Ryan, we´re in the middle of a bank in a mall, Are you crazy?"

"When it comes to you… yeah, I guess I am. But you haven´t answer my question. Would you be my girlfriend?"

"You know that it is the first time you have actually asked me that, right?"

"I know"

"Ryan, have you really thought about this? What about the distance between us?"

"We´ll skype and call and text each other everyday"

"What about the time difference?"

"We can adjust"

"How about the lack of, you know… – she turned her voice down – … sex? Won´t you be tempted to get it from somebody else?"

"Will you?"

"No!"

"Me neither. Besides, I know we can work around it somehow because you´ve proven to be very creative in that department" – he said with a devilish smile.

Taylor blushed but smiled, too.

"Are you sure you won´t be running for the hills again? Because I don´t think I can take watching you walk away from me one more time."

"I swear, I won´t" – he said looking intently into her eyes, trying with all his might to make her see he was completely and totally honest.

"So, what do you say?"

Taylor started to cry because she couldn´t hold it for much longer. She smiled and nodded.

"Is that a yes?" – Ryan asked hopefully

"Yes, the answer is yes."

Ryan felt like his heart was going to explode. He released Taylor´s hands to wrap his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him. Then, he searched her lips with his own and gave her a soaring kiss. It started out a little rushed and very passionate but then it turned sweet and deep. That public display of affection won them another collective round of aawws and applause from the crowd and a few catcalls too.

After what felt like a long magnificent time, they pulled apart. Ryan gently kissed Taylor´s forehead and hold her in a tight embrace and she sighed happily basking in the warm and love she felt.

Ryan looked Taylor in the eye and said "I love you"

"I love you, too"

Kaitlin, Summer and Seth had been beaming at them the entire time and when they saw that the big moment had passed, they approached them to congratulate them. Kathy came close behind and also congratulated them.

"Taylor, this is Kathy. She is the one that helped us" – He said taking Taylor´s hand in one of his own and signaling Kathy with the other.

"Nice to meet you Kathy and thank you"

"It´s nice to meet you, too and you´re welcome. You´re a very lucky girl"

"I know" – Taylor said with a big smile looking at Ryan and squeezing his hand.

"I´m the lucky one, for sure – Ryan said rubbing Taylor´s hand with his thumb - Didn´t you get into any kind of trouble because of this?" – He asked Kathy

"Just a little bit but the manager was so moved with the speech and nobody complained so she is letting this one slip. I´m going to be on probation for a couple of weeks, though. No biggie" – she shrugged it off – "I have to go now. It was great meeting you and congratulations again, bye"

"Bye, Kathy" – they all said in unison

"Ok. What do we do, now?" – Kaitlin asked while skimming the room. She noticed a rather funny looking man, he looked kind of lost. Everybody noticed the confusion on her face and looked to where she was looking.

"What is it?"- asked Summer

"That man looks like he needs help. He looks kind of lost. Maybe he ran away from a mental institution or he´s one of those old people who forget their names"

"I´m sure he´s fine" – Seth said rolling his eyes – "Let the poor man alone"

At that moment, the man opened his jacket and pulled out a gun. "EVERYBODY DROP TO THE FLOOR!" – He screamed at the people in the bank.

There were screams and people running and throwing themselves to the ground everywhere. Kaitlin, Summer, Seth, Taylor and Ryan did the same. As Seth was between Kaitlin and Summer he opened his arms and placed them protectively over their shoulders. Ryan was a little further away holding Taylor and covering her with his own body as some kind of shield.

Ryan was starting to get annoyed with fate. Just when this day had finally made him think that things were looking better for him, this had to happen. For the moment, his anger with destiny will have to wait as his main concern right now was to make sure that nobody got hurt and that Taylor and his friends could go back home safe and sound. He just hoped that this man wasn´t crazy enough to use his gun.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I´ve left this story unattended for quite some time. In compensation, I´m adding a longer chapter this time. I want to thank Emily for the bank robbery prompt and to fanfic-addict15 for giving me the final push I needed to pick up this story again. Thank you to all of you who have been reading and following and I hope you like this one.**

**CHAPTER SIX**

"Are you O.K.?" – Ryan asked Taylor

"Yes" – she whispered back

Ryan looked up at Seth. He nodded to let him know that he, Kaitlin, and Summer were fine as well.

"Ryan, what are we going to do?" – Taylor whispered

"Stay very quiet" – He turned his head to look at her with a serious expression - "I mean it"

Taylor gave Ryan a questioning look.

"Taylor, I'm serious! I just got you back and I don´t want you doing funny things that can get you in trouble"

"Alright" – she said rolling her eyes but smiling inside because in spite of how terrifying the situation was and that Ryan had just kind of told her off for no reason (according to her), she enjoyed how protective he was of her.

"EVERYBODY STOP TALKING!" – The gunman yelled and when everybody was silent he continue in a much calmer voice –"That´s better. Now, I don´t want to hurt anybody, so if you just cooperate nothing is going to happen to any of you"

He pointed his gun to the security guard and asked him to close the doors. Then, he approached the cashiers and asked them to put all the money in a plastic bag he handed over. One of the cashiers had taken advantage of the distraction with the doors, to push the panic button under the counter.

"Can he be finished already? This dirty floor is ruining my top"- Kaitlin said squirming under Seth's arm trying to save her top somehow

"Seriously Kaitlin?" – Summer said

"What? It's designer's you know?"

"YOU TWO SHUT UP!" – gunman said

"Why don´t YOU shut up, get your money and leave so I can save what's left of my clothes?"

"We´re so dead" – Seth said under his breath

"Do you wanna die little girl?"

"No, and I´m not scared of you neither" – she said. Everyone was staring in disbelief - "I grew up with Julie Cooper and if I am not afraid of my mother, whom in case you didn´t know, is the reformed most manipulative, cunning, ambitious, and ruthless woman you had ever met, I´m not scared of anything"

"Sweetie, I think you should have given her the speech instead of me" – Taylor told Ryan with a worried look. Ryan nodded.

"Kaitlin! Are you crazy? You´re gonna get us all killed!" – Summer said

"No! Look at him!" – she said pointing at the gunman

"What about me?" – He asked

"What about you? Where do I even start?" – Kaitlin said giving him a dismissive look – "You are sooo amateur. This is your first robbery, isn´t it?"

"How did you know?"

"Because I started lift shopping when I was eight and I know a rookie when I see one" – "Look, we are not going to interrupt your robbery because you obviously have a gun, but I think all the good people here would appreciate if you let them sit down at least, this floor is disgusting and you already ruined everybody´s day, let´s just not include good clothes in the list, too. OK?"

"This is unbelievable" – Ryan said

"She is so awesome, I´m totally creating a character for her in my comic book. What do you think of Shop Girl?" – Seth said gesticulation his arms as if he were placing a sign in the air.

"Ok. If you all promise to cooperate, you can sit down. But, nobody stands up because I want to see all of you?"

"Thank you" – said Kaitlin.

Everybody started rising slowly to a more comfortable sitting position. Ryan pulled Taylor with him up against the wall behind them. She sat next to him directing her body to his, placing a hand on his lower back and the other on his chest. Ryan put his left arm around Taylor´s shoulders and the other on her waist.

"Are you really ok, Sweetheart?" – Ryan asked his girlfriend

"Yes. I am with you and I know you´re protecting me, so I´m fine".

Ryan pressed a sweet kiss on her forehead before answering: "I´ll always will"

"I know that now" – Taylor said smiling

Seth and Summer had moved closer to Ryan and Taylor so they sat next to them. Seth took Summer´s hand and entwined their fingers. Kaitlin sat down beside Seth and Summer with a satisfied smile.

"Kaitlin, that was unbelievably awesome in so many levels that my mind went completely puffs" – He said making an explosion kind of gesture

"Cohen! You shouldn´t be encouraging her! What she did was extremely dangerous. She could have hurt herself and others" – she said to Seth – "And you! You had better not try something like that again; you almost gave me a heart attack!" – She said to Kaitlin

"Would you relax? I totally knew what I was doing"

"Guys, do you think the cops are coming?" – Seth asked

"Probably. I mean, everyone in the mall must know what's going on in here" – Summer said

"Let´s hope they don´t" – Taylor said

"What?!" – Asked Summer

"Honey, when the police show up is usually a good thing" – Ryan said

"In this case, it is not. If he gets his money quickly he will leave and then we can all go home, but now if the cops come, he is going to get desperate and he will turn this into a hostage situation. Haven´t you guys never seen bank robbery movies before? "

"She is right Ryan. Why didn´t I think of that! I´m supposed to be the movie critic here, you know" – Seth intervened -"My dad is going to kills us for making mom get worried!"

"Kristen will be fine because we are going to be fine" – Ryan reassured him – "If, we managed not to temp this guy into using his gun" – he said looking at Kaitlin. She just rolled her eyes.

The cashiers managed to put all the money in the bag and the gunman was getting ready to go when the police arrived to the bank´s front door.

"Oh, great!" – Taylor said in a sarcastic tone – "being held hostage in a bank robbery is not how I planned to spend my day"-she flushed herself closer to Ryan – "but then again, I can always make the most out of the situation" – she added with a devilish smile.

"I love you" – Ryan said

"I love you, too" – Taylor said and pulled Ryan´s face to hers to give him a little kiss

"Aw you guys are so sweet!" – Summer squealed

In that moment a voice of a man over speakers could be heard: "This is the police, you are surrounded. Step outside and surrender!"

"Damnit" – the gunman yelled

"Told you. Rookie" – Kaitlin said signaling to the gunman and with a smirk on her face.

The gunman started to walk around the place with the bag of money in one hand and the gun in the other. Suddenly, he looked towards the cashiers and stared at someone.

"You! You must know a way out of here!" – He said pointing at Kathy

"What? Me? I don´t know anything!" – Kathy said terrified

"Don´t give me that! I know that you come in here through a backdoor. Now, shut up and show me!" – The gunman said while approaching Kathy and pointing her with the gun.

"Stop!" – one of the guys working as a cashier yelled – "Leave her alone. I´ll show you the way out. Just, leave that girl alone"

"Ok. But no funny business or I´ll put a bullet through your head"

"No funny business. I swear I´ll show you the way out. Just leave Kathy alone"

"Fine. Lead the way" - he said to the cashier – "The rest of you, you´ll stay where you are and won´t open that door. If I hear steps behind me I will shoot him, understand?. Everybody nodded.

With that, the gunman disappeared with the young man walking in front of him guiding him toward the back of the bank.

When he left, everybody started stand up and the manager ordered the guards to open the doors for the police to enter.

"What about Peter?" – Kathy asked the manager

"He´ll be fine. We need to tell the police what happened so they can help him"

When they were able to stand up, Ryan hugged Taylor really tight and after that he took her hand. They walked towards Kathy along with Seth, Summer and Kaitlin. They saw the bank manager talking to the policemen and showing them where the two men had disappeared moments before and the detective was barking orders everywhere.

"Kathy, are you alright?" – Summer asked

"Yes, I think I am. But, poor Peter! Do you think he will be ok?"

"Sure, He´ll be fine, right guys?" – she asked around

"Absolutely" – Taylor said

"And you´d better be ready to show that man some gratitude when he comes back" – Kaitlin added

"What do you mean?" – Kathy asked confused

"Girl! You totally have him in the bag! It´s so obvious"

"Really?"

"Didn´t you just see how he offered to take your place? He even said your name! He´s totally into you"

"Oh! Now, I really hope he doesn´t get hurt. I haven´t been on a date in months"

At that moment one of the officers came to them to tell them that they were not allowed to leave until they all provided their statements.

"I think I´ll call dad" – Seth suggested

"Yeah. That will be ok now. We are all safe and maybe he can come and helps up leave sooner."

A few minutes later Peter came back with an official. He said that the gunman let him go when they reached the emergency stairs and ran to escape. He was taken to one of the offices at the back to talk to the detectives.

Sandy was there in half an hour. They were all very happy to see him, especially because these interviews with the police seemed to be dragging on forever and they were hungry and tired and just wanted to go home.

Hello guys! Are you all alright? – Sandy asked when he saw them

"Yes, we are all fine" – Ryan said

"How is it possible for you to get into this kind of trouble? You´ve only been in Berkely for like a day. This must be some kind of new record"

"Well dad, you know that when you have the gift you make things happen"

"I can see that. But maybe you should try to control your gift a little bit more, ok son?"

Sandy noticed the interaction between Taylor and Ryan and he knew that they had worked things out. He looked at Ryan intently and when his son looked back and smiled, he smiled back and nodded. He was happy for the both of them.

"Dad, can you work some of your layer magic and get us out of here?"- Seth asked

"I´ll see what I can do. Oh, and call your mother, she flipping out" – with that Sandy went to talk to the police officers

Ryan pulled Taylor a little away from the others. He didn´t get the chance to really be with his girlfriend because of the robbery and it was time to make some damage control.

"Taylor?" – Ryan said while circling his arms around Taylor´s waist

"Yes, Ryan" – She answer while placing her arms around Ryan´s neck

"Would you go out with me tonight?"

"Are you asking me out?" – She asked with a huge smile on her face, which made Ryan smiled too

"Yes, I am asking my unbelievably beautiful girlfriend out on a date tonight, what do you say?"

"Absolutely" – she said kissing him softly

Now, Ryan only had a few hours to plan the most romantic date ever and he hoped to have better luck this time.

TO BE CONTINUED….


End file.
